Iraqis fear corruption as power changes hands

Monday

BAGHDAD -- The guys with the guns and bombs and best-laid plans might think the U.S. withdrawal of combat troops from major Iraqi cities on Tuesday will work.

BAGHDAD -- The guys with the guns and bombs and best-laid plans might think the U.S. withdrawal of combat troops from major Iraqi cities on Tuesday will work.

But some ordinary Iraqis harbor another idea.

"They're terrified," said one U.S. soldier who works with Iraqi army and police units in Baghdad. "They know there are more bad guys out there than good guys."

"We will be happy to see the American forces go, but I feel there is more stability in their presence," said Husam Ayid, 27, in Tikrit in northern Iraq. "The armed groups (insurgents) will become more active -- and we don't know who or what side they will target."

Added Buraq Alsa'idi, 32, an unemployed man in Basra in southern Iraq: "I don't trust the Iraqi forces on the issue of security. I'm worried they will collapse because they are mostly unprofessional and infiltrated."

Even an army officer, Khalid Younis, 27, in Mosul, has doubts. "I am a little concerned at this early withdrawal because I don't believe that the Iraqi Security Forces are ready," he said. "They are inexperienced, especially about fighting terrorism."

Part of the Iraqis' concern is that more and more of them see the main issue facing their society as corruption, not security. Examples surface every week of a public servant or private employer enriching himself at the expense of the people. These episodes erode their confidence in the Iraqi government's ability and honesty.

The Sons of Iraq, for example, were paid by the U.S. not to fight, a move that helped quell much of the insurgency in 2007 and 2008.

Now, the government is supposed to pay them, but some citizens question whether the money will ever filter down to the onetime insurgents.

With joblessness plaguing hundreds of thousands of young Iraqi men, it's tempting for them to make money from insurgent groups. After a bomb killed 72 and injured about 140 at a Sadr City marketplace, young men threw bricks at Iraqi police and chanted, "How much are they paying you?"

Mohammed Abulazziz, 34, of Baghdad, thinks Iraqi security forces will be able to handle the situation. "I think Iraqis will be better than the Americans especially if they are armed well," he said. "The prestige of the Iraqi soldier is higher than an American's because he is an occupier."

Meanwhile, violence continued in Iraq. Iraqi security forces bolstered checkpoints and banned motorcycles from the streets of Baghdad yesterday in preparation for more violence in the cities before this week's withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Despite the increased checks, a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. convoy in eastern Baghdad wounded six bystanders. It was unclear whether anyone in the convoy was injured, police said.

A car bomb also exploded in the parking lot of a police academy in western Baghdad, killing one police officer and wounding six others, police said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Information from the Associated Press was included in this story.

U.S. war dead

Includes combat and noncombat military deaths:

• In Iraq: 4,318 since military operations began March 19, 2003

• In Afghanistan: 639 since military operations began Oct. 7, 2001

Source: Defense Department, Associated Press

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